


For Thundera

by 18lzytwner



Series: ThunderCats Third Series [9]
Category: Thundercats (1985)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-05 16:09:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 27
Words: 19,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15867105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/18lzytwner/pseuds/18lzytwner
Summary: The final battle for the universe has begun. Can Sahara and the ThunderCats stop it or will their time finally run out?





	1. Chapter 1

A week after Leo had proposed to Amala, Evil Chaser First Class Shay had woken up. Wizz-Ra had flown back to Third Earth to see how she was doing and to see if the spell he'd cast had any lingering side effects. Mandora and Alexei had stayed to make sure that she was not going to be alone but as they found out the peoples of Third Earth cared about the Evil Chaser and there had been almost a constant stream of visitors. Now as Wizz-Ra entered the room, the former Evil Chaser and former FSB officer were glad to see him.

"First Class Shay it is good to see you are awake. The doctors tell me your road to recovery will take some time," the wizard smiled slightly.

"Yes," she smiled back but he could tell that she was struggling with processing the words. It was not uncommon for an injury such as this to result in the permanent loss of brain function. Right now it was too early to tell if she would ever truly recover.

"We appreciate you stopping by. The doctors feel that familiar surroundings would be good for her but they are also concerned about her muscle tone. The nurses have been flexing her muscles but of course they are nowhere near the condition they need to be in," Mandora said.

"I wish I could offer a magical solution for that but I can't. Sometimes nothing works better than good old fashioned hard work. However, that doesn't mean I can't poke around a little to see how her brain is actually functioning," the ancient Egyptian told them.

"How does that all work?" Alexei wanted to know.

"We had our ways back in my time. Most of which were probably lost a long time ago. If she'll let me, I'll cast a spell similar to the last one that I cast and it should help stimulate the brain a little. That's about all I can do though I wish I could do more," Wizz-Ra explained.

"Do," Shay said without even needing to be asked.

"Yes ma'am," he nodded before placing his index and middle fingers on both sides of the patient's head. He closed his eye and chanted in his ancient language. Mandora and Alexei could see his fingertips glow and they wondered just what exactly was going on. Shay's eyelids grew heavy and she eventually closed them.

"I have done all I can do. Now she must rest and so must I. Not having to go back to the Seventh Dimension has been handy but I am still working on regenerating my powers," he admitted.

"Not a problem. Take a seat," Alexei offered him a chair.

"Thank you. So how have you two been holding up?" He asked.

"Ok I guess. We were just hoping for better results for poor Shay," Mandora admitted.

"Yes especially since I heard Captain Ashok is already back at work. He was very lucky that Lord Panthro recognized what was happening to him. Still Shay is strong and she will recover," Wizz-Ra said with confidence.

"She starts physical and mental therapy tomorrow and we will be staying to help. I've called home and they are working up information for the doctors here and getting us some more of our personal belongings," Alexei told him.

"Excellent," the wizard smiled. That's when a nurse knocked on the door and Mandora got up to get it. The two quickly discussed something and then the former Evil Chaser turned to Wizz-Ra and said,

"Sahara is on the line. They need you back as soon as you can be. She's having some sort of issue with her powers and they aren't sure what is going on."

"It could finally be the sign we are waiting for. Tell them I'll be on the first transport back to New Thundera," he said.


	2. Chapter 2

"Leo you have to push yourself. Otherwise you won't be running any marathons. Heck you'll be lucky if you can go to the bathroom on your own," Amala gave the Prince a look. He was attempting to get his muscles back in shape after lying in bed for the last few months. The litah stood between two bars that were mounted a few feet off the floor, allowing him to use them to help him move his legs. His beloved stood behind him with a wheelchair in case he became unstable and needed to sit down.

"I'm having a hard time breathing," Leo admitted.

"Well that will happen. You haven't been moving that much and now you're asking your body to do things," the snow leopard explained.

"Then why am I having pains in my chest?" He asked, huffing and puffing slightly. Quickly Amala helped him back into the wheelchair.

"What kind of pain? Sharp, stabbing pain or dull ache? Is it radiating?" She wanted to know.

"Dull ache and no radiating," Leo told her.

"Ok, let's get you back to bed. I'm ordering a full workup to make sure everything is ok," Amala said. He nodded and slowly breathed in and out. They moved out of the therapy room and back down towards his bedroom. Pumyra stopped them and Amala explained the situation. The puma ordered Nurse Isabelle to get some blood drawn and a body scan done immediately. She quickly wheeled the patient off for testing while Pumyra turned her attention to the young snow leopard beside her.

"It's not uncommon for some pain to linger or flare up a little while he gets used to using his body again but it also isn't a bad idea to run some tests," she said.

"I know but I really hoped he'd be able to progress a little bit more. Is there something we're missing?" Amala wondered.

"Let me call Doctor Ayla but I don't think so," the puma smiled reassuringly.

"Thanks," the snow leopard smiled back. Pumyra had barely moved away from her young protégé when the Lair's alarms went off.

"On second thought, you call Doctor Ayla. I'll go see what's going on," the puma said. Amala nodded and quickly headed for the phones while Pumyra headed out of the Med Bay and down to the Control Room.

"What have we got?" Lion-O wanted to know as he entered the Control Room. He'd been meeting with the Council when the alarms had gone off and the meeting was quickly ended with the thought that they'd pick up things once the emergency was over.

"Wizz-Ra's ship is coming in but one of the thrusters malfunctioned. I need a good pilot to help bring him in," Punthar explained.

"That would be me," Panthro spoke up from behind them.

"How'd you…" the lion couldn't believe the panther had managed to get down there as quickly as he had and didn't see how it was possible until he turned around.

"He had a little help," Cheetara chuckled. Punthar cancelled the alarm and Panthro wheeled himself up to next to the puma.

"Ok, which thruster is out?" The panther asked.

"Number four on the back of the ship. His butt will be coming in a little heavy," Punthar explained. Panthro nodded and then spoke to the pilot,

"Number four thruster shouldn't be a hard landing, just redirect the power from that thruster to the other three equally."

"I tried that and it blew out Number two. I managed to get Number two started again but I don't know how long that will hold. We're dropping steadily though with only three thrusters," the pilot responded. Panthro frowned before responding,

"How much further until you reach the ground?"

"Eight thousand feet. Activating garbage chute. Sixty-five hundred feet. Fifty-five thousand feet. Pulling up on controls to bring the nose up," the pilot continued. Everyone could see it had slowed the descent of the vehicle but not by much.

"Four thousand… three thousand… activating garbage chute again…" once again the descent slowed and then the pilot did something that no one was expecting,

"Redirecting power all thruster power to one and three. Two thousand… one thousand…" Punthar quickly announced that an emergency landing was coming in hot.

"Activate the thruster two!" Panthro shouted. There was nothing but silence on the other end. Everyone expected the next thing they'd hear was an awful crash.


	3. Chapter 3

The next thing they heard was "Transport One Niner Delta has landed. Fire on the port side. In need of emergency vehicles." Everyone checked the screen again as if they could not believe what they were seeing. Emergency crews had wheeled out onto the landing pad with their fire trucks and medical vehicles. Cheetara looked at Pumyra but the puma was already heading for the door. The cheetah ran to her, scooped her up, and took off toward the hangar.

They arrived just as the fire was finally extinguished. Thankfully it hadn't reached the fuel tank and the flames were partially put out by the landing. The medical teams seemed to be in no rush as they remained out near the scene. Both women were surprised but made their way out there anyway.

"How bad is it?" Pumyra asked.

"A little smoke inhalation and some exhaustion," the medic, an orange tiger by the name of Ash, said.

"How can that be? How can this whole thing be? Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful but…" Cheetara was just confused.

"That would be something to ask the exhausted one," Ash smiled and pointed to a team looking over Wizz-Ra.

"He must have used his magic. You check on him and I'll check on the pilot," Pumyra told the cheetah. Cheetara nodded and made her way over to the second group of medics who scrambled out of the way when they saw the Queen coming.

"Trying to get yourself killed huh?" She asked the wizard.

"It wouldn't be a fun trip if I didn't," he chuckled despite being obviously drained.

"Let's get you inside and make sure you get some rest," the cheetah chuckled.

"What about Sahara?" Wizz-Ra wanted to know.

"She can wait a little while longer. Lak is with her making sure that she's ok," she said.

"I bet he is," he responded under his breath and smirked slightly to himself.

"What was that?" Cheetara asked.

"Very good then. I just need an hour to get back on my feet," Wizz-Ra smiled. The Queen nodded and motioned for the medical team to get him up to the Med Bay. She noticed that Pumyra was sending the pilot up there as well while Ben-Gali, Li-en, and Cavan were coming out to inspect the ship. Panthro wasn't far behind them with Lea giving him a push.

"Did the pilot say what happened?" Cheetara asked the puma when she reached her.

"He said that Wizz-Ra used his magic when thruster number two began to fail again," Pumyra answered as they started to head back inside the Lair.

"Well we might as well let the experts handle the investigation and I had better visit my son," Cheetara said.

"Amala was placing a call to Doctor Ayla. Leo is having some pain in his chest along with difficulty breathing. I was going to find you once I'd had the doctor's opinion," her friend told her.

"Are you concerned?" The cheetah asked.

"Not too much but it won't hurt to check everything. Little incidents like this aren't uncommon during the recovery phase," Pumyra explained.

"But…" Cheetara could tell that there was something else bothering the puma.

"Leo isn't healing as nicely as I would have hoped," she admitted.

"Lack of effort or…" the cheetah trailed off, unsure she could handle if something really more serious was going on.

"Not lack of effort. He wants to get stronger. He wants to get married to Amala. I'm more concerned his body doesn't know how to operate with the proper sized heart. Sometimes there can be blood flow complications because all of a sudden the body is finally getting the supply it needs. It sounds odd but think of a dam opening. For years, the water was held back by the dam and the pool behind the dam grew wide and deep. When it lets go, the water flows at a fast rate and floods the lower plain that was dry for so many years. The veins in his extremities were a little smaller because they were only getting a smaller blood flow. Now they are flooded and he's having issues getting the flow regulated when he's not lying down. Once he's able to get his body used to the increased flow while he's up and moving, we'll be fine. Its juts taking longer than I expected," Pumyra fully explained.

"How did I not notice his troubles sooner? I'm his mother. I should have known something was wrong," Cheetara said.

"Hey now. There was no way for you to know. How many checkups did he have between myself and Tygra? Tons. Something like this can develop very slowly and it could be slow enough that even the patient doesn't notice it or chalks it up to over exertion. There is no one to blame here. We were very lucky that he was with his sister when he had his sudden attack," the puma told her. They'd finally reached the Med Bay and Amala approached both of them however they could tell that something was wrong by the look on her face.

"What is it Amala?" Cheetara asked.

"Leo's blood work came back and the results of his body scan show that he is not responding like he should to the new medication. Doctor Ayla is on her way over," the snow leopard heaved a sigh. The Queen pulled the younger woman into her arms for a hug.

"We'll get this figured out and we'll get through this together," Cheetara promised, she could feel her uniform getting wet from the tears that Amala was shedding. The doors to the Med Bay opened and in walked Sahara with Lak holding onto her. Her new found powers were making everything she did difficult and Lak had refused to let her out of his sight, concerned she may hurt herself. Now as they saw the Queen and the snow leopard holding each other, they immediately grew concerned.

"What happened?" She asked.


	4. Chapter 4

Sahara and Lak now sat with Wizz-Ra in his Med Bay room. The wizard was feeling better but figured they may as well talk where they were for privacy. He could tell that Sahara was concerned and it probably had nothing to do with the increase in her powers.

"Your brother is still struggling, isn't he?" Wizz-Ra asked.

"Yes. He's not responding to the medication like the doctors had hoped," she admitted.

"It will be ok. They know what they are doing. While it doesn't seem like we should focus on you now, we need to. We cannot wait as we have no idea when the enemy will rear their ugly heads," the wizard said.

"I'm having visions and they are incredibly draining. Lak has had to help me move around the Lair," Sahara explained.

"What kind of visions? Things you have already seen or things that may be to come?" Wizz-Ra wanted to know.

"I think they are of what could come to be. I know that I have not seen them before," the litah told him.

"It would seem Bast is trying to prepare you for something. What do you see?" The wizard asked.

"There are these four beasts that have four dark riders atop them. They seem to be spreading death and destruction as they make their way toward me," She explained.

"What kind of beasts?" The ancient Egyptians needed more details.

"Not ones I'm familiar with. They are muscular four legged creatures with long noses and hair that hangs off of their necks. Each animal is a different color. There is a white one, a chestnut one, a black one, and then a pale one, which is shrouded in darkness and seems to have no eyes," Sahara did the best she could describing them. Before anyone could say anything else there was a voice from the doorway that made them all look up.

"Pestilence, War, Famine, and what is left after they have come through but Death. The riders are on what used to be called horses and they are known as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." It was Mandora.

"Four Horsemen of what now?" Lak asked; his eyebrows raised.

"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They are the bringers of the end of civilization according to ancient texts. When I say ancient, I'm talking just after Wizz-Ra's time," the former Evil Chaser said.

"Explains why I have never heard of them," the wizard frowned.

"They are based in an ancient religion called Christianity. It is said that when the Horsemen appear that the time to meet ones maker is upon you. Those that survive the wrath of the Horsemen will be given their eternal resting place with their God while those that did not will suffer in Hell for all eternity," Mandora explained.

"Ok that doesn't sound good," Sahara spoke up.

"Yeah they aren't something that brings good news. I guess I have to ask why we're talking about them though," the woman wanted to know.

"I have seen them in a vision. My guess is that Bast has discovered whom the Ancient Spirits of Evil wish to use as their champions," the litah frowned.

"They could just be symbols of what is to come. Perhaps their champion has the ability to let loose pestilence in which case the others will follow just as a matter of course," Mandora suggested.

"She is right. Pestilence can be a disease that spreads amongst the food that is grown, which leads to War over the remaining healthy resources, which will eventually lead to Famine, which inevitably leads to Death," Wizz-Ra said, the wheels of his mind were already turning.

"I suggest that you get someone checking all of the crops on the planet and on Third Earth. Since you export to other planets, it's only a matter of time before the disease gets off world and spreads throughout the galaxy," Mandora told them.

"I'll alert the King," Lak nodded and he quickly took off out of the room.

"Now I originally came here to check up on the rough landing I heard about but now I think you had better clue me in as to what this is all about," the former Evil Chaser said.


	5. Chapter 5

"So this is what has been causing Sahara's issues?" Lion-O asked. The ThunderCats had met in the Conference Room to get everyone on the same page about an hour later. Wizz-Ra had quickly explained the situation and Mandora had joined in. The original reason for her visit had been because she'd heard about the ship that had come in with issues and almost crashed. Now she was in it up to her eyeballs.

"Yes and we must be on our guard," the wizard explained.

"I've got the food inspectors heading out to every farm on this planet. I've put the call in for Third Earth as well," the lion told them.

"Excellent plan. I've called the Space Council and alerted them to the possibility of some diseases that could be in the crops. They're working on getting alerts out," Mandora spoke up.

"Without any concrete proof?" Tygra asked. They all knew that typically alerts weren't put out until something actually happened.

"When I said that the diseases could lead to famine and that we're still working on the details, they agreed to do low key checks without alerting the public," she said.

"Good. We don't want to incite panic when we still aren't sure of what exactly will happen," Cheetara said.

"I would concur. We start a panic now and the plan may be abandoned and then we'll look like a bunch of people who cried wolf," Pumyra agreed.

"Now what more do we need to know about these horsemen? Are they possibly just a metaphor for the Ancient Spirits of Evil's new champion?" Panthro wondered.

"I was thinking that they could be a metaphor for the disease but the more I think about it, the more I wonder how they intend to spread a crop disease. They'd have to have someone who could initiate it simply by touching it, spraying it, or by actual seed manipulation," Sahara admitted.

"Yes that would seem to be an issue but we have gone up against villains with those capabilities," Lion-O pointed out.

"Ah the day we met in fact," Mandora smirked.

"Our good buddy Plutar," the lion chuckled, remembering what had happened.

"It wasn't funny then but it is definitely something we can laugh about now," Cheetara shook her head.

"Someone like Plutar could be who we're on the lookout for. I'll call my contacts and see what I can find," Pali spoke up.

"Onyx is not a very nice place so it would stand to reason that our Pestilence could come from there," Mandora said.

"I hate to go there but what if the horsemen are meant to symbolize four different villains. Perhaps the Ancient Spirits have more than one champion," Lak had been processing everything that was going on and he finally voiced his opinion.

"It is a good point son," Ben-Gali nodded.

"An excellent point, young one. So if we equate a Plutar-like person with Pestilence, who could we equate with War, Famine, and Death?" Lynx-O wondered. He was getting older and he hadn't been on active duty for a while. Still everyone needed his counsel and his experiences.

"This room has accumulated a lot of enemies over the years," Lea pointed out.

"Yes and we must be on the lookout for anything and everything. Perhaps it may be time to head back into the book. Bast may have more answers for us. In the meantime, we do all we can to stop what is coming," Lion-O told the group.

"Agreed but we have another interesting development in Wizz-Ra's return trip," Panthro said.

"Oh?" Tygra gave the panther a look.

"Yes, we found a defect in thruster number four that was small enough to be missed on visual inspection so that explains that. However, it doesn't explain what happened to thruster number two," Ben-Gali frowned.

"Li-en and Cavan are running tests on it to see what happened but so far, everything seems to be functioning properly," Lea explained.

"Keep me looped," Lion-O said before he broke up the meeting.


	6. Chapter 6

"You have returned seeking more answers my child?" Bast asked Sahara. The litah had gone into the Book of Omens with Wizz-Ra and Lea once again.

"I'm afraid the message is a little hazy," Sahara replied.

"I would imagine so since it is a little hazy to me. My father has not been sending me signals that I can comprehend and I fear that his time is finally at hand. Once he is gone, I am all that is left of the old religion," the goddess explained. They all knew that that was only a condition that would last as long as the Book of Omens continued to exist. Once the transfer of power to Sahara was complete, then all that would be left was the Book and not the spirit inside.

"I am sorry to hear it. Ra is a mighty God and he has saved many in his time," Wizz-Ra frowned.

"That he has sorcerer that he has. Now the Ancient Spirits of Evil are trying to gain the power they once had and perhaps things will be clearer once my father can no longer fight them off," Bast said.

"Forgive me for asking but if we are to go through Pestilence, War, Famine, and then Death, what do the Ancient Spirits hope to gain?" Lea asked.

"They believe that only the worst of the worst will survive, ensuring their reign on the galaxy. You see they don't actually need to have anyone worship them to survive, what they need is for all innocence to be snuffed out," the goddess replied.

"So that evil will live in whoever remains and that will sustain them," Wizz-Ra said.

"Correct, so it is important for you to remember that you cannot stoop to your enemy's level. You must remain as pure as possible. Now go and I shall try to clarify my father's message," she said. With that they were expelled from the Book.

"Let's see what Pali has found. Perhaps he got lucky with his search," Sahara said once they landed back in the Artifact Room.

"Good idea. I must commune with the spirits from the Seventh Dimension," Wizz-Ra said.

"Sounds like a plan," Lea nodded and quickly the three split up with the ladies going to find Pali and Wizz-Ra heading back to his quarters. Lea and Sahara quickly found their way to Pali's office where they could hear Mandora on the other side of the door so they stopped in their tracks.

 _Son, I have to head back to Third Earth and see how Shay is doing. I only came over here to see how you were doing. I know that things have been tough with both of your folks gone and Shay's difficulties,_  Mandora said.

 _It has been hard but I'm guessing my recent rash behavior has not helped my cause,_  Pali responded. That's when the ladies heard footsteps and turned around.

"We've got quite the line forming don't we?" The approaching tigress asked in a low tone, assuming the others were listening to the conversation inside the room.

"He's a popular guy," Lea smirked.

"Kyra, from accounting, right?" Sahara smiled.

"That's me and I probably should have been more formal in my approach, your Highness, Lady Lea," Kyra bowed her head.

"Nonsense. Right now we're just three ladies listening in on the conversation," Lea winked. Sahara giggled and Kyra couldn't help but chuckle slightly herself.

 _Well I think it's time you got back on track. You've been avoiding her haven't you?_  Mandora asked. The silence was the answer and Mandora knew she had him right where she wanted him.

 _I'll take that as a 'yes'. Take it from me. This opportunity isn't going to come around again. She's obviously flirting with you and you know that if I can tell then everyone else caught on about ten years before I did. Alexei practically had to whack me over the head for cripes sake. I just don't want to have you waste your opportunity. You know your mother would have used that stick she kept to whack you on the back of the head with,_ she said.

 _Yeah and then dad would have joined in_ , Pali chuckled, remembering the times he spent with his adoptive parents. The stick was only because they couldn't reach his head and the whacking was barely a love tap. It was just done to remind him from time to time he needed to correct his course of action.

 _So there you go. Now tell her how you feel. I'll call when I get back to Third Earth._  The conversation was obviously ending and the three scooted back away from the door and leaned up against the wall, acting as if they hated heard practically the entire conversation.

"You've got a line forming out here," Mandora chuckled. Pali stuck his head out of the office and noticed who was waiting.

"Oh dear," he said.

"We'll be brief. Any word from your contacts?" Lea asked.

"Nothing yet, sorry," Pali said

"Keep on them. We appreciate it," Sahara smiled. With that the two ladies turned to go, leaving Pali alone with the tigress.

"You feeling ok?" She asked, noticing how pale he had just gotten.

"I'm…" he started.

"Going to tell her how you feel!" Lea shouted back down the corridor before both she and Sahara ran away.


	7. Chapter 7

"How is he?" Lion-O asked as he approached his wife in the Med Bay. Cheetera had just made sure that Leo had fallen asleep and she then decided it was time for her to take a shower and maybe get some dinner.

"The new medications seem to tucker him out but Doctor Ayla says that just means his body is working to get used to the new pace of things. She hopes that after a few days he'll start to feel strong again," she said, collapsing into his arms. Lion-O kissed the top of her head.

"He's a fighter. He'll get through this," he told her.

"Pumyra has been consulting with Doctor Ayla and they fear that if this new medication doesn't turn things around the only answer will be a transplant," now tears ran down her face, soaking the lion's uniform. He had no words for her at that point. A heart transplant? How likely was it that they'd find a donor in time? How long could Leo survive waiting for one? Those questions would need to wait as Pumyra and Tygra approached them.

"I know that now is not a great time but Pali thinks he has a lead on someone who could be our Pestilence," the tiger spoke up.

"Why don't you get cleaned up and get some food and I'll handle this. We'll catch up later," Lion-O said, kissing her forehead. Cheetara just nodded before heading out of the room and down to their quarters. The others quickly headed out of the room and down to the Conference Room.

"So what have you got for us Pali?" Panthro asked as the last of the group filed in and sat down around the Conference Room table.

"Plutar is up for parole. Needless to say, though he has served his time, no one is looking forward to letting him out. The Evil Chasers have it on good authority that once Plutar is released, he will probably not want to go back to Onyx," the Mutant explained.

"How does he get up for parole?" Lion-O wanted to know.

"Well he's spent the last twenty five years in prison and the term for his crime is thirty years. He was eligible for parole before and was denied due to the fact that his attitude hasn't really changed. Right now however, the Penal Planet is dealing with overcrowding, and he is one of the less violent offenders when it comes to people they'd like to keep in jail," Pali told them.

"Ok, so you think he'll come to New Thundera?" Lea wondered.

"My guess is that his first stop would be Third Earth since New Thundera formed after he went to prison. Revenge is an easy guess for this guy. He's mad at Mandora and he's definitely mad at Lion-O. The Ancient Spirits of Evil will use this to their advantage," he said.

"He's right. We should start prepping Third Earth and we need to know if he's actually released on parole," Tygra spoke up.

"I've already got the word to the Penal Planet for a heads up," Pali nodded.

"Very good. When Mandora calls in, inform her of the update and that we'll need more of that solution she used on him," Lion-O said.

"Yes sir," the Mutant nodded.

"All right everyone back on duty. We'll need to be ready when things start moving. Pali keep your ears open in case Plutar has family that is looking to join him in this quest for revenge," the lion ordered. With that the group dispersed, leaving Lion-O, Pumyra, and Tygra alone in the Conference Room.

"What are Leo's chances if he has to wait for a new heart?" The lion wanted to know.

"We're not sure but know that we're doing everything we can to avoid needing to do such a transplant. It's possible that the medicine will work and we won't have to do it. Doctor Ayla is conferring with the physicians on Mars to see if there are other options," the puma spoke up. Lion-O heaved a sigh. He was worried about his son and he didn't know what to do.

"Focus on fighting the bad guys and we'll focus on helping Leo," Tygra said, knowing that staying on task was going to be difficult.

"WARNING! INCOMING SHIP ALERT! MUTANT SIGNATURE!" The alarms around the Lair blared. They said nothing to each other and raced down to the Control Room.


	8. Chapter 8

"What's going on? The Mutants didn't learn their lesson from the last time?" Lion-O asked Punthar as he entered the Control Room.

"No idea sir. I'm trying to hail the ship but they are not responding," the puma explained.

"Fire a warning shot across their bow. Let them know that if they don't respond we won't hesitate to blow them out of the sky," the lion ordered.

"Aye, aye," Punthar nodded and quickly gave the order to the weapons room down the hall. He then made the announcement to the ship and almost as suddenly as the ship had been coming in hot, it practically stopped mid-flight, and began to hover. That's when the screen in front of Punthar told him he was getting a message.

"Now they're hailing us," the puma said.

"Answer the call," Lion-O nodded and quickly Punthar pulled up the call. Up on the screen popped a reptile that looked much like Slythe, though admittedly more trim and fit.

"I am Commander Ta'rek of Plundarr. I am in need to speak to your leader," he said.

"You have him Commander. I am King Lion-O. Why are you violating New Thundera's airspace and then not answering our calls?" Lion-O demanded.

"Given our histories I figured you'd wait until I responded to some sort of action. I see you are still following that behavior and I am glad for it. My crew and I have run into trouble and are in need of assistance. Normally, I would not ask an enemy such as yourself but we are unable to make it back to Plundarr and have little choice," Ta'rek explained.

"Land your ship and prepare to be boarded," with that Lion-O signaled for the call to be ended and Punthar complied.

"I want a battalion of ThunderGuard to surround the ship and I want every able bodied ThunderCat on hand. We don't know what game they are playing but I'm not interested in taking any chances," the lion said.

"Yes sir," Punthar picked up the phone and quickly called the ThunderGuard barracks.

"Troops in two minutes sir," he announced.

"Good. ThunderCats, with me," Lion-O quickly headed out of the Control Room and down to the hangar with the rest of the team in tow. They quickly exited the hangar to find that the ship had landed and only Ta'rek had exited the craft.

"I would not suggest you boarding my ship King Lion-O. I'm not even sure that I am safe," the reptile said.

"What do you mean?" The lion gave him a look.

"We made a stop on our way home from the trading post where we do business and one of my men has been sick ever since. In the time it took us to get here, three more have come down with the same illness. Unable to diagnose it, I looked for the nearest planet and you were it. Plundarr is still at least sixteen hours away," the Commander told him.

"We'll get the hazmat suits and inspect the vehicle and the crew. No one is to go on board until we've checked it out," Tygra said. Lion-O nodded and turned his attention back to the reptile.

"Doesn't Plundarr grow its own food? I can't remember the last time any Mutants were allowed at Space Council trading posts," the lion gave him a look.

"We are in the midst of a severe drought and troops have been sent to retrieve food stuffs from anywhere we can get it. The Space Council has allowed us escorted rendezvous' with the trading posts," Ta'rek explained.

"How long has this drought been going on?" Lea spoke up. She'd been slowly absorbing everything that the Mutant had been saying and she was beginning to worry that perhaps what had been prophesied had already begun.

"Officially the drought has been going on for two months but three months prior to the official declaration most of Plundarr had been conserving water and we'd been having snow brought in from the ice-moon to melt for crops and cooking. I'm not sure why that is important," he was confused by her question.

"Because when we call the Space Council to verify your story, we need details," Lea gave him a look. Ta'rek took it in stride nodding in almost agreement.

"All right, take us to the sick crewmen," Tygra said as he and Pumyra along with three nurses arrived in their special suits.

"This way," he bowed his head and gestured toward his ship. Lea turned to find Sahara but she had already taken off. Instead she found Lak who mouthed " _into the Book_ ". The lioness nodded. Perhaps the Ancient Spirits of Evil had more of a head start than they had originally realized.


	9. Chapter 9

"Have you seen anything like it before?" Pumyra asked as she and Tygra looked at their new patients. All of the Mutant crew had been quarantined and the Space Council alerted. More Evil Chasers were in route to New Thundera to help but they were probably six hours away.

"Boils and lesions like this? No," Tygra frowned, as he poked one of the boils on the vulture in front of him with a scalpel and it practically exploded. They had given the Mutants some medicine to help the pain and to help them sleep, so luckily the patient didn't feel the tiger's poke.

"Best to take samples and see if any antibiotics help," the puma said.

"Lance a boil on each patient and let's see if they differ at all. I would think that if this is airborne, everyone on that ship would have been sick by now. So perhaps we need to get the Commander's input as to what these men would have all touched," he said.

"Yes I would agree. We also need to know if anyone is allergic to the antibiotics before we administer them," Pumyra pointed out.

"Yes, the last thing we need to have one of them get worse because we gave them something they were allergic to," the tiger nodded. From outside the containment area, Amala watched through the window at the two doctors working on their patients. They had refused to let her anywhere near the sick Mutants and she'd been instructed to coordinate with Doctor Ayla on Leo's treatments.

"How ugly is it?" Lea asked, coming up behind her. The snow leopard jumped out of her skin, surprised at the lioness's stealthy approach. Lea put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile.

"Pretty ugly. The boils seem to ooze green puss and the lesions are probably from the patients ripping them open. They also have high fevers and are completely incoherent," Amala explained.

"That's absolutely lovely," the lioness wanted to gag.

"Well Tygra and Pumyra are going to run some tests and hopefully get it figured out. Has Sahara returned from the Book yet?" The younger woman asked.

"No, which is why I came down here, hoping for better news," Lea admitted.

"What does Wizz-Ra have to say?" Amala inquired.

"He's stumped like the rest of us, though he and Cheetara are going to try and tap into her powers to see if they can get something out of it," the lioness said.

"I bet the King is thrilled about that," the snow leopard gave a slight chuckle.

"So I'm not the only one who sees the way he looks at Wizz-Ra? Pan said it had something to do with the first time they had met the Wizard," Lea shook her head.

"Well I'd be upset if someone was making goo-goo eyes at my wife too," Amala said.

"That explains that," Lea chuckled. Suddenly, there was an announcement over the PA system,

"Lea to the Artifacts Room. Your assistance is required." The lioness gave the younger woman a smile and headed for the door.

"So what exactly needs my assistance?" Leas asked a few minutes later, when she entered the Artifacts Room. Sahara was seated on Lak's lap, leaning into his chest while he rubbed her temples with his fingertips.

"Nasty headache huh?" The lioness grew concerned.

"Bast believes that we have run out of time. Everything we've been trying to stop is already here," Sahara said without opening her eyes.

"How can that be? The problems started on Plundarr," Lea was confused.

"She believes that Pestilence was on that Mutant ship that just landed," Sahara had barely gotten the words out of her mouth when the Lair alarms went off.


	10. Chapter 10

"What's going on?" The lioness asked as she rushed into the Control Room. Lak and Sahara were right behind her, the latter's headache wasn't getting any better.

"The freaking alarms are on the fritz again!" Punthar was already underneath the console, trying to screw around with the wires. Ben-Gali was down there with him and they soon heard the white tiger cuss as he finally disconnected the alarm.

"That's better," he said.

"Not really. We need to examine those Mutants better. We may have brought Pestilence inside the Lair without knowing it," Sahara said as other ThunderCats trickled into the Control Room.

"I'm beginning to think you are right. We tried to go talk to the Commander and he'd taken ill. The remainder of the men have already come down with the same disease. There is one that has not. At first, we figured he was a carrier but something just feels off," Tygra told them.

"That doesn't sound good," Cheetara frowned.

"It isn't. I've had Pumyra make sure that he's under lock and key and we have more ThunderGuard soldiers down there to keep our friend company," the tiger explained.

"What about all of the non-Mutant patients?" Lion-O wanted to know.

"We've moved them all to the hospital downtown, including Leo. The last thing he needs is an infection," Tygra shook his head.

"Do you think we can cure them?" Panthro wanted to know.

"We're working on a cure now but unless we can somehow destroy whatever is going on with our last remaining crew member, it won't mean much," the tiger pointed out. The alarms sounded again and everyone looked at Punthar and Ben-Gali.

"This is a real alert! Someone pushed the panic button down in the Med Bay!" The puma announced. Everyone quickly ran out of the room while Punthar announced to the rest of the Lair to be on the lookout for any Mutants wandering the halls and to make sure they did not touch the Plundarrian.

Sahara rushed into the Med Bay, beating everyone else. Her headache had somehow disappeared and she wondered if that was because Bast had finally left the Book of Omens. There was only one way to find out and that was to meet the disease carrying being. However, she had bigger problems.

"Amala!" The snow leopard lay on the floor and she wasn't moving. Sahara quickly felt for a pulse, despite being told to not touch anyone who had been exposed to the disease. Luckily, her brother's fiancée was still breathing but boils had already begun to form.

"Jaga's toothbrush," she swore under her breath. Getting up she looked around and found Pumyra lying on the floor as well. The litah moved to her and once again felt for a pulse. Again she found one but she also found boils. She quickly moved to the door and locked it from the inside preventing anyone else from entering.

"The door is locked!" Cheetara shouted outside the door a few moments later.

"You can't come in! Amala and Pumyra are down! I suspect the same is true for the ThunderGuard!" Sahara shouted back.

"Sahara! What were you thinking?!" It was Lak.

"I might be their only chance. They barely got near this guy and they already have boils and they're unconscious. I don't even feel sick. Catch our Mutant friend and bring him to me. This ends now," she told them.


	11. Chapter 11

The Lair went into lockdown mode. Everyone was ordered to don hazmat suits and if they couldn't do that, to lock themselves in whatever room they were in. Sahara walked through the Med Bay and just as she suspected the ThunderGuard had been rendered unconscious and they were covered in boils. The litah kept expecting that she'd get sick but she did not.

"Bast? Are you with me?" She felt she had to ask since no one else around her could answer the question.

 _I am little one. You need not fear the illness as you will not get sick. The others on the other hand are in danger. Find the cure that Tygra spoke of._  A voice inside her head replied.

"I won't know what I'm looking at," the litah admitted. She was very intelligent but medicine was out of her league.

 _I have faith that you will find a way,_  Bast replied. Sahara still had doubts but she started looking around Pumyra's desk. There was a slide under the microscope and she looked down through the piece of equipment.

"That's gross," the litah gagged as it turned out that the sample of one of the boils. She grabbed the nearby phone and made an announcement over the Lair's systems.

"Tygra! I need help!" A few minutes later, the tiger's voice came over the intercom at the door and she rushed over to the door.

"Are you ok? How are you not sick?" He asked.

"It's a long story but I have a friend that's helping," the litah said.

"Tell me all about it later. Now the microscope is connected to the computer and the computer is working on breaking down what the virus is. What you need to do is see what it has determined and what it calls for as a possible solution," Tygra explained.

"So that's how you guys do it? Kind of seems like cheating," Sahara chuckled.

"To be honest, we only use it when we run into troubles like these. We've never seen anything like it," the tiger told her.

"That's reassuring," she frowned. That's when she heard the computer beeping. Quickly she ran over to it and read what it said on the screen before returning to the door.

"It says that a course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine should be tried. It gives options for which medicines to try but warns that supplies are low on just about all of them," Sahara told him.

"That's because we were due for a shipment that hasn't come in yet. The Evil Chasers are still about three or four hours out with the medicine. No word on if our Mutant trespasser has been caught," he said.

"What should I do?" The litah asked.

"The sickest patients will be the Mutants but we don't know what they are allergic to. If you give them medicine and they have a bad reaction, it could kill them. We have the ThunderGuard and Pumyra's and Amala's records on file. Start with them and see what happens. I'll see if the Evil Chasers can get us the Mutants' patient files but I wouldn't hold my breath," Tygra shook his head even though she couldn't see him.

"Stay safe out there. I'll see what I can do," Sahara promised.

"You stay safe too. I'm imagining that our Mutant trespasser isn't exactly friendly," the tiger said. That's when an announcement sounded inside the Lair.

"All available personnel to the basement Ventilation Room! Lion-O has him trapped down there!"


	12. Chapter 12

Lion-O had the Mutant cornered and the Sword growled at him. They both heard the announcement that Punthar had made and the lion was grateful that back up was on its way.

"What are you waiting for ThunderCat? Have compunctions about killing me, do you?" The Mutant asked.

"Hardly. We need you to manufacture a cure for those sick up in the Med Bay," Lion-O responded through his hazmat suit. He was glad to be wearing one, considering the damage that the Mutant had inflicted.

"You really think that keeping me alive will save your friends? Oh I fear things are too late. The Evil Chasers are too far out and your medicine supplies are low," Pestilence chuckled.

"How could you possibly know that?" The lion gave him a look.

"Why do you think I waited so long to strike? Why do you think I hesitate now to fight you? I'm certainly not afraid of you," he said.

"Could have fooled me," Lion-O smirked and quickly called out to the Sword,

"Thunder… Thunder… Thunder… ThunderCats HO!" The cat signal shot forth from the Eye of Thundera and blanketed the Mutant before him. Pestilence cried out at first but then began to laugh as his body slowly dissolved. Lion-O watched in utter horror and fascination as his enemy vanished into thin air. Then realizing what the Mutant was attempting, he quickly went to the power panel on the wall and slammed the breakers into the "OFF" position, shutting down the ventilation units.

Moments later, Cheetara, Lea, and Ben-Gali came racing through the doors of the room. They too were clad in hazmat suits and the lion was grateful.

"We need to run a disinfection cycle on the ventilation units. The Lair needs to remain in lockdown. I may have destroyed Pestilence's corporeal body but he dissolved right before my eyes and could be airborne," he explained.

"On it," Ben-Gali went over to each ventilation unit to initiate the cleaning sequence. The ductwork on the other hand would be another story.

"I need help down here to remove all the units' filters and I need a team with chemical washers to start spraying the ductwork. Just cleaning the unit won't do," the white tiger explained. Lea went to the intercom and called for teams to initiate the Liar's scrub down, which included all the piping and ductwork, and called for anyone to assist with removing and replacing the filters inside the ventilation units.

"Will that contain the sickness?" Cheetara asked.

"It should help but I'm not sure there is a way to completely tell," Ben-Gali said.

"There isn't a way to tell," Lion-O when to his sister and relayed a secondary command,

"All clothing, pillows, sheets, blankets, and all other cloth items shall be taken to laundry for immediate cleaning and disinfecting. All items that cannot be fully washed like sofas, couches, and mattresses shall be taken to the incinerator and burned. That is an order!"

"I hope that covers it," Lea said.

"Me too. Right now, we need to hose off ourselves before anyone touches the filters, otherwise, we're just putting more contamination into the room," her brother told her.

"We're not far from the morgue. Doctor Pungali always has a bleach sprayer there to disinfect things," Cheetara suggested.

"Good. Let's go," Lion-O said. Ben-Gali quickly followed them as they exited out of the room and headed just across the hallway to the morgue. Doctor Pungali was only happy to oblige and sprayed them down with bleach.

"Should be good to go now," the medical man told them. That's when the Lair's alarms sounded again,

"Med Bay Alert. Code Blue in the Med Bay," the machine's seemingly nonchalance about the situation was a tad unnerving but then again, a machine couldn't feel.

"Ben, stay here and supervise. Lea, make sure the cleaning procedures have been started all over the Lair. Tara, you're with me," quickly they split up and headed for the Med Bay.


	13. Chapter 13

The Evil Chasers landed two and a half hours later. Punthar had warned them that they were still in the process of cleaning the Lair and that they would be met outside by Li-en and Cavan.

"I'm Captain McCreary of Evil Chaser Battle Cruiser three-three-one-seven. Sorry we had to meet like this," the younger man introduced himself and shook Li-en and Cavan's hands.

"As are we but we definitely need your help. We lost two of the Mutant crew and the rest are not in good shape. We also have ThunderGuard and two ThunderCats down. None of the medicines that we had are working and our supplies are seriously low," Li-en said.

"Hopefully we have something that can help. Is it safe to enter the Lair?" McCreary wanted to know.

"Only in hazmat suits. The pathogen ended up in the ventilation system. We're almost done cleaning but it will still take at least another two hours," Cavan explained.

"Ok, I'll grab the ship's doctor and a couple of others and we'll get to work. In the meantime, the rest of the troops will be at your disposal. They might be able to help finish cleaning up the Lair," the Captain suggested.

"We'll take all the help we can get, thanks," Li-en smiled. Quickly, the Captain excused himself, promising to meet them back at the Med Bay with supplies and personnel. The two ThunderCats headed inside and alerted Punthar that help was on the way. Then they headed down to the Med Bay to talk with Sahara.

"How are things going in there?" Cavan asked through the door's intercom.

"I wish I could say better. Has help arrived yet?" The litah wondered.

"They've landed and they'll be here in a few minutes. They're going to need to come in there to help you," Li-en said.

"I'm coming in too," Tygra told her. He'd been talking to her through the door's intercom as the young woman had still refused to let him in.

"I have no idea how contagious it still is in here. I can't disinfect the room other than what you're already done by replacing the special air filters and scrubbing the ductwork," Sahara was nervous that hazmat suits wouldn't cut it when she had fifteen patients in there. While she'd cordoned off the patients inside the special quarantine zone, there was no way to tell if the rest of the Med Bay was clean enough.

"It's a risk we'll have to take. We've already lost two patients and we need to save the rest," Tygra said.

"Has any of the other horsemen made their appearance?" Sahara asked.

"The Evil Chasers have been running a galaxy wide search fitting what we believe to be our opponents and nothing yet," Cavan told her.

"Why does that not bring me comfort?" The litah responded.

"Well I hope our presence helps. Captain McCreary with Doctor Wantabe and Petty Officers Stevenson and Bell, at your service," a new voice came over the intercom. Sahara heaved a sigh and unlocked the door. The group entered along with Tygra.

"Let's get to work," the tiger started.

"Forgive me but is it clean? Why don't you need a suit?" A man who had to be Doctor Wantabe asked. He was older than the rest and did not look like a man who had been very far outside of his office.

"It is not clean and it's a long story," Sahara smiled.

"Trust me, it is," Tygra said. It was then that he noticed the litah's hands clench into a fist. The hair on her arms began to stand up.

"What is it?" He asked. The others could see the change in her demeanor and stance and wondered what was going on.

"Where is my father?" She asked.

"In the Control Room checking on the progress of the cleaning," the tiger told her, confused why she needed to know that. Suddenly, there was clamoring outside the room and the door opened to reveal the Sword. It flew towards the litah and she grabbed the hilt. Her body felt electrified and it was like all of her senses were working double time.

"Lock that door behind me and keep working to save Amala, Pumyra, and the others. I have a horseman to catch," and with that she was out the door.


	14. Chapter 14

Lion-O had been just as surprised as anyone when the Sword left the Claw Shield. When he'd last spoken with his daughter everything was fine and now it appeared they were not. It did not take long for the litah to make her appearance inside the Control Room.

"Lock the Lair down now!" She ordered and Punthar did not ask any questions, quickly alerting everyone was in lockdown.

"What's going on?" Lion-O asked as he handed her the Claw Shield.

"Bast says that Famine is here, inside the Lair. Is it possible that somehow someone or something got in during the cleaning process?" Sahara wanted to know.

"Nothing has popped up on the Lair's systems," Punthar shrugged, unsure of how anything could get past them.

"Something Pestilence said…" the lion suddenly had a thought and went over to one of the side computers. The lynx sitting at the monitor quickly relinquished it to the King.

"Ok someone please clue us in," Lea said, she'd returned to the Control Room to give Lion-O an update about the cleaning process only moments before Sahara had entered the room.

"Pestilence asked to me why I thought he'd waited so long to strike and why he was hesitating at that moment to fight me. He claimed he wasn't scared of me. I thought it was just bravado but what if the reason he wasn't in any rush was because one of his brothers was already in the Lair? Or they would somehow be created by his defeat?" He wondered as he pulled up the plans of the Lair. They showed him where all the people and things giving off heat inside the building.

"All right, I'm with you but I don't see anything that shouldn't be there," Lea nodded, looking at the screen. Sahara looked at the same screen to see if her father was onto something. Then something occurred to her.

"When all the contaminated stuff goes into the incinerator, where does the ash go?" She asked.

"Pan made a system so that the ash wouldn't discharge into the atmosphere. The only things that should be leaving the stacks is smoke and even that is filtered using special filters so that nothing larger than a few microns gets out," the lioness told them, referring to the system her husband had worked so hard to install.

"Punthar, pull up the live camera feed of those smoke stacks," Sahara said, she had this bad feeling in the pit of her stomach as Bast started telling her to run. The puma dutifully did so and the clouds of smoke seemed completely normal until they began to twist and reform, something smoke shouldn't be able to do. In an instant, Sahara was out of the Control Room doors and racing down the hallway. Punthar quickly unlocked the main door as they all watched in horror as the smoke formed the shape of two horses, one white and the other black.

Sahara made it outside the Lair to see the two horses come down from the heavens. It would seem that Pestilence and Famine were working together. If she did not stop them now, what would follow was War and Death, and there would be no way to reverse it. She turned her head when she heard an engine behind her.

"Thought you might need a lift," it was Lak and he was driving the HoverCat. She jumped up on top of the vehicle, since it could only seat one pilot. Where she was going however, she didn't need a seat. She slammed the blade of the Sword into the HoverCat, away from the vehicle's circuits, giving her something to hold onto. Without needing to ask, he quickly lifted the vehicle, higher and higher into the air, chasing the two smoke horses through the sky. They both knew that they were heading for the farm fields just outside the capital city.

Lak flew the HoverCat as fast as he could, soon catching up to the horses. At that moment, Sahara withdrew the blade of the Sword, using the Claw Shield to hold onto the hole she'd created, before shouting to the weapon,

"Thunder… Thunder… Thunder… ThunderCats HO!" The Cat Signal shot into the sky and both horses turned to see their enemy practically upon them.


	15. Chapter 15

The black horse quickly turned and headed for the crops while the white horse charged at them. Seeing them split up and knowing that Famine could not reach the crops, Sahara looked down at Lak. He'd continue to charge the HoverCat at Pestilence.

"You think the Sword can get you the rest of the way while I take care of this guy?" He asked. They only had moments to decide.

"Good luck!" Sahara shouted. She propelled herself off of the HoverCat and shouted at the Sword,

"Ho!" It seemingly knew what to do and it roared before pulling the litah toward Famine. Lak turned all his focus on Pestilence. He wasn't sure how he'd catch a smoke horse but he had to try. Pestilence reared up on its hind feet, realizing that Sahara was going after Famine and tried to turn around.

"Oh no you don't!" Lak maneuvered in front of horse, with the fans on the back of the HoverCat directly in Pestilence's path. The horse tried to escape but he could not prevent the powerful fan motors from sucking him into the machine. Then before he could be expelled out the bottom fan, Lak cut the engines. The craft began to free fall toward the planet's surface.

 _I hope this works. Sahara forgive me if it doesn't,_  he thought to himself. When he was only fifteen feet above the ground, Lak hit the ignition switch. The HoverCat roared to life and the down blast from the large fan on the base of the unit, pummeled Pestilence into the ground. The large amount of air that it took to propel the vehicle caused the smoke being to dissipate. Lak then carefully and easily landed the HoverCat in the middle of the city park. That's when he heard the sirens and saw the incoming transport. Backup must have been sent from the Lair and he saw his father practically jumping out of the vehicle after it had finally stopped at the site. Ben-Gali was running toward him, followed by the ThunderGuard and some medical personnel.

"What were you thinking?!" His father was practically having a heart attack.

"The only way to get rid of smoke is to disperse it and the only way to do that quickly is to blast it with a large fan," the pumiger explained.

"Don't ever do that again!" Ben-Gali told him before pulling from the craft and into his arms.

"Did I do something wrong?" Lak was concerned he'd angered his father.

"No, you just scared the hell out of me," the white tiger still held him close, kissing the top of his head. He then let go of his son and gave him a quick once over.

"We have to go help Sahara. She took off after Famine…" Lak didn't get to finish.

"Wizz-Ra is already on it. Cheetara is trying to reach Jaga in the Astral Plane to see if he can help," Ben-Gali quickly explained.

"I can't just…" again the younger Cat was cut off.

"You're getting medically checked out. Everyone who can help Sahara is doing it. Bast is with her and will protect her," his father told him. Lak frowned. It didn't feel right to just be standing around while Sahara was off fighting but he also knew his father was right. Between Bast, Wizz-Ra, Sahara, and the Sword, there wasn't much else that could be done.

"Need some help?" Wizz-Ra approached the flying litah and the Sword on the ThunderClaw. She was gaining on the horse every moment but somehow it was still outpacing her. The fact of the matter was smoke was lighter and faster than she was. Sahara could only nod and the wizard moved the ThunderClaw into position so that she could get into the seat behind him. The Sword roared as she landed on the seat and Wizz-Ra pushed the engines to full throttle. That's when they noticed that Famine was making a nosedive toward the first field of crops that he saw.

"Follow him!" Sahara shouted and Wizz-Ra put the ThunderClaw into a dive that both passengers knew would be hard to climb out of.


	16. Chapter 16

Cheetara was trying to stay focused. They needed Jaga's help and without the Sword, the cheetah was the only one who could reach him. She had used Lion-O's office while the rest of the Lair was busy finishing up the cleaning process.

Going into her trance, the cheetah travelled from her own body into the Astral Plane. The borders between the physical and astrophysical worlds blurred and soon the cheetah found herself completely in the place that she sought. Though now that she was here, Cheetara wondered what she would find and how easily she would be able to find the Cat who had mentored most of the elder ThunderCats. The Plane was dark and she could only see a little ways in either direction. It was certainly not as she remembered Lion-O describing it.

"It is not your time, yet you journey here," a figure approached out of the dark. He was shrouded in a dark cloak with a hood and carried a staff, taller than he was.

"I need to find someone. We need his help," she said.

"We? Yet they send you?" The figure questioned.

"I'm the only one who can make the journey," Cheetara explained.

"You are very brave. You do know that no one can leave here and coming here could cost you everything," he said.

"For my daughter and for Thundera, I must," the cheetah would not be intimidated.

"Then you are the one that the Gods spoke of. Cheetara, Queen of Thundera, wife of Lion-O, King and Lord of Thundera, ThunderCat, and mother of Sahara, the one who shall save us all," he replied.

"How…" it wasn't as if she had told him who she was or why she was there.

"Come, I know where the one you seek is," he said. He started moving through the dark and Cheetara stuck close by.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"I am Styx, guardian of the Underworld, or the Aboveworld, I suppose this is. Takes some getting used to from my last gig," he admitted. The darkness had started to lighten and soon it had disappeared altogether. In its place, it was what appeared to be a village, though the homes were of all different shapes and sizes.

"Last gig?" The cheetah was surprised how he'd changed from the cryptic person she'd just met to a relaxed person, if that was in fact what he was. The cloak and hood remained; the only part of him exposed was his bony hands.

"I once guarded the entrance to what was called the Underworld. I was feared by man and was under the employ of Hades, God of the Underworld. As the number of worshippers declined, I sought out other work but it turns out, I'm only good at one thing," he sighed.

"Being a guardian?" Cheetara asked.

"You are correct. Hades convinced the others here to let me guard the entrance. Too many people trying to get in and too many people trying to get out," Styx explained.

"Trying to get in?" She was confused.

"Only those worthy gain ever lasting life here in the Astral Plane. We cleaned up the place since Lion-O last visited. That would be thanks to Hades," he said. There was silence and Styx could tell she had many questions.

"You'll get answers to your questions just save the Universe first ok?" Styx turned and looked at her, or at least she thought he did.

"His place is the third on the left. Can't miss it," the former Greek God said. Then in a poof he was gone. Cheetara shook her head and sped to the house. Jaga was waiting outside as if he knew she was coming.

"I've been expecting you. Sahara needs help, doesn't she?" He asked.

"We all do," she said.

"Then let's go," he said.


	17. Chapter 17

The ThunderClaw was bearing down on Famine and in that instant, Sahara leapt from the back of the vehicle and the Sword roared. Wizz-Ra saw her make that move and attempted to pull the ThunderClaw out of the dive that was causing it to head to the planet's surface at terminal velocity.

"Ho!" Sahara ordered the Sword to aim true at its target. A blast of energy struck the fleeting smoke horse. What didn't look like it would work suddenly proved deadly as the blast of energy transformed itself into the form of its enemy. Famine screamed out in pain and Sahara refused to give up the barrage.

"Ho!" she shouted and once again the Sword obeyed. But now, the ground was practically in front of her. If she didn't do something in a hurry, she'd be a pancake on the ground. First, she got to smirk as the Sword's attack hit its target. This time the horse seemed to become more solid and that's when Sahara got an idea.

She aimed her body at the horse, sucking in her arms and legs so she flew faster towards the semi-solid horse. He was struggling with his new condition and paying less attention to the litah who was now on top of him. Famine was confused when Sahara landed on his back and she didn't fall through him.

"Ho!" Sahara shoved the blade of the Sword into his back until it reached the hilt. Blood came from the wound and it was then that both the predator and the prey knew it would soon be over. Suddenly, however the horse shifted shape, and became a Monkian. Sahara grabbed onto the Sword, which was still buried into the Mutant's back. He only smirked as the ground was only seconds away. The litah braced for impact, knowing that this was it.

A plume of dirt went up from the ground but Wizz-Ra was still focused on trying to get the ThunderClaw out of its dive. He yanked on the yoke but it would not respond; the lift required was not achievable because of the force now keeping the ship in its position. He only had moments before there would be a fiery crash. That's when he felt himself lift out of the seat.

"Need a hand?" Jaga asked as the ThunderClaw smashed into the ground, exploding.

"Great Gods…" Wizz-Ra murmured, as he was set down in a large palm.

"Not exactly, just a hand from the Astral Plane," the former ThunderCat said.

"How did you?" The Ancient Egyptian asked. It was then that he realized that Jaga was in fact solid but also as tall as the Cat's Lair.

"Long story. Where is Sahara?" Jaga asked.

"I don't know. I was too focused on trying to save my bacon. She jumped off of the ThunderClaw and flew after Famine," Wizz-Ra admitted. They look around and that's when they noticed a crater not far from their position.

"No…" they both couldn't believe what they saw. Quickly Jaga moved toward the hole and discovered Sahara on top of a Monkian. Wizz-Ra urged the former ThunderCat to let him down, which he did. They both could hear the drone of engines, meaning that the ThunderCats were on their way. The wizard climbed down into hole and felt for a pulse but could find none. He shook his head and started conjuring up a spell to see if he could do something. That's when he felt the ground move nearby. It was the first ship. The ship landing was followed by the sound of multiple sets of feet hitting the ground and rushing toward him. That's when he heard an anguished cry above him. He knew it was Lak but he continued to try the spell he started. This just had to work. The pumiger climbed down into the hole, just escaping Lion-O's grasp. When he sees what is in the hole, the King of Thundera collapses to his knees. Now all their hopes rest on Wizz-Ra's shoulders.


	18. Chapter 18

Everything was dark. And cold. Involuntarily, she shivered and tried to look around. She could see nothing and though she begged the voice in her head for guidance, the voice had gone silent.

Suddenly her surroundings lightened up a short distance in front of her. She tried to move toward the brighter spot and that's when she realized her leg felt weird. Shaking her head, she was sure she was losing her mind.

"You don't need that device here, little one," a voice spoke from the spot she could see in front of her. That's when she saw a hooded figure.

"Who are you? Where am I? How could I not need my prosthetic?" Sahara wanted to know.

"Full of questions just like your mother. I am Styx, Guardian of the Astral Plane, which takes care of your first two. As for the last one, once you enter here, you return to the form you should have been," he explained.

"I can't be here. I have to go home," she shook her head. That's when she realized she didn't have the Sword of Omens or Claw Shield with her.

"You slammed into New Thundera with a force only the Gods could imagine. I'm afraid that there is no coming back from that," Styx informed her.

"But how am I supposed to save everyone? There are still two Horsemen on the loose," Sahara challenged him.

"That's a little bit above my pay grade on that one," he said. Snapping his bony fingers, the darkness disappeared and they found themselves in the village that Cheetara had been in just hours before. Sahara looked at her surroundings and noticed that there was a pyramid that looked a lot like Mumm-Ra's except it was sandy colored and not dark.  
"Did Wizz-Ra not make it?" Inwardly she cringed. It was her fault if he died.

"I have not met anyone by that name. I think Bast will have more information for you," Styx pointed to the pyramid and then vanished. Sahara moved toward the pyramid, watching her surroundings as she went. Everyone who was there seemed happy. They had homes and yards and smiles on their faces. A few of the beings waved at her and not knowing what else to do, she waved back.

"I have been waiting for you little one," the being in front of her had the head of a falcon on a body like Wizz-Ra's.

"You have?" Sahara gulped.

"I owe you a great debt. You have brought my daughter home to me," he explained. It was then that Bast appeared next to him. Now the litah understood why the voice in her head was gone.

"For without you, she could not have left your realm, so daughter of Lion-O, heir to the Thunderian Throne, I have one wish I can grant you. It will be my last act as Ra, God of the Sun," he continued.

"Please send me home. I cannot…" Sahara did not get a chance to finish.

"Your people do need you for War is coming. Defeat him and Death will not follow. Osiris has offered his help and is using Anubis to track Death down. When the Ancient Spirits of Evil attempted to overthrow him and escaped his hold, Osiris made it his mission to track them down. He has them and will now tackle their best Horsemen. Go, Daughter, and know that I will always be watching. Bast will still be able to reach you, should she need to. You are the only one strong enough to bear both your soul and hers. Do not forget that with strength comes pain," with that Ra placed a hand on Sahara's head and the world went black again.

The next sound that reached the litah's ears was the sound of her own screaming. Ra had not been wrong. Pain seared across her body, then she felt Lak pull her to him, and the pain seemed to cease. Another gift from the Ancient Gods, she supposed. Bast had called Lak her warrior after all.

"I thought…" he murmured. The pumiger had moved his head so she could look at her, make sure that she was real.

"I was…" she said to him. Lak leaned in and she met him halfway, their lips locking onto each other's. There was coughing behind them and they broke apart, blushing insanely.

"You gave quite a few people around here a heart attack," Wizz-Ra said.

"Well I hope not because we're not done with the Horsemen. There is still work that needs to be done," Sahara told them.


	19. Chapter 19

"Ok, you're going to need to run that by me again," Lak said. Sahara had been helped back to the Lair and she could feel her strength returning. While she was explaining everything that happened to her, she'd received some food and drink, which was definitely helping.

"I know you aren't that hard of hearing," she teased him.

"He's not the only one that's confused," Lion-O admitted. Suddenly the main phone in the Control Room rang and Punthar answered it. Everyone focused their attention on him, waiting to see what the person on the other end had to say.

"The Evil Chasers think they've found the cure for Pestilence's disease. Everyone being treated seems to be improving," the puma announced when he got off the phone.

"That is very good news," Ben-Gali clapped a hand on Lak's shoulder. Sahara reached out and gave his hand a squeeze.

"I'm sure Leo will be relieved as well," Lea said.

"As soon as someone explains it to him. He needed no extra stress. Tygra didn't want him to know what was going on," Cavan spoke up.

"He is right. Until this whole thing is over completely, we keep him out of the loop. I don't like doing it but it is necessary for his recovery," Cheetara agreed.

"Especially when we have to explain everything else that has been going on," Sahara said.

"I do wish to visit him before I head back to the Astral Plane," Jaga told them.

"I think we can manage that," Wizz-Ra smiled.

"So just a quick check before I think I'm losing my mind," Li-en started. Everyone looked at him, allowing him to continue,

"Sahara helped Bast migrate to the Astral Plane to join her father Ra. Jaga was let out of the Astral Plane, just because she asked nicely?"

"Not exactly. After Lion-O's journey and my subsequent rescue inside the Astral Plane, it was decided to review the process of gaining entry to the Plane. This is why Styx, whom both Cheetara and Sahara met, is Guardian of the Astral Plane. He is helping keep those that do not deserve to be there out. He helped those that should have moved on to move on and those that could not remain. I cannot pass on. I am forever tied to the Sword and the Eye of Thundera due to my sacrifice which saved the ThunderCats. It is also therefore allowed for me to leave when a great danger threatens the Eye and the ThunderCats. This is one of those occasions," Jaga explained.

"Like when we had to fight Grune," Lion-O said.

"Correct. The only reason Sahara was allowed to return was because of Ra's standing and what she had done for Bast. If she returns again to the Plane, she will not be able to come back," Jaga told them.

"No offense Jaga but I kind of like it here," Sahara spoke up.

"None taken, little one," he said.

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" She asked.

"Well you are little, for a God," Jaga smiled.

"Pardon?" Lak asked.

"You don't think she was gifted with her special abilities for no reason do you? You absorbed the spirit of an ancient God who has declared that your soulmate is a warrior of hers. She chose you, daughter of a King and Queen, both of whom have their own special abilities," the elder ThunderCat said.

"Yeah we can debate all of that later," Sahara interrupted.

"I still have some questions…." Lea started.

"Later," the litah insisted. She held out her hand and the Sword jumped from the Claw Shield and into her hand.

"He's here," she said.


	20. Chapter 20

The Red Alert sounded throughout the Lair and everyone grabbed the weapons they would need to do battle. Sahara had charged ahead to the main door and now stood on the steps looking around. It was weird that she could somehow feel the Horseman of War but she could not see him.

"Show yourself coward," a little challenge may bring him out of hiding. The response came from the Sword as it growled. Before Sahara could do anything, there was an explosion in the city.

"So that is how you intend to do it? Harm innocents to get my attention?" She challenged again as the sounds of sirens could be heard. The emergency vehicles were already inbound. The litah didn't' wait for a response, she sheathed the Sword, and ran toward the site. Within moments she could feel her mother's presence beside her.

"What happened?" Cheetara asked when they arrived on the scene.

"So far we've been unable to tell. Possibly a liquid Thundrillium explosion," one of the firefighters responded.

"Survivors?" Sahara asked.

"It's too hot to go in there. I doubt it," he responded. Sahara looked at her mother and the cheetah nodded. Quickly the two of them, began running in circles around the buildings that were engulfed in flame. The resulting vortex sucked the flames and smoke up high into the atmosphere where they dissipated. Cheers went up from the crowd that had gathered and the sound of ThunderCat vehicles soon drowned out the cheering.

"My King!" Someone shouted and everyone quickly bowed their heads as Lion-O exited the ThunderTank.

"It would seem my Queen and my Princess have already put the flames out," he smiled at everyone.

"It is an honor to have you here sir but I'm not sure what is left to do," the Fire Chief, a lion by the name of Zulu, said.

"Regrettably, I imagine there is much to do," Lion-O frowned and looked to his daughter, who only nodded.

"Sir?" Zulu was confused.

"Sahara?" The King asked.

"He was here. It would seem that this was done as a distraction," she said.

"Who was here?" The Fire Chief asked. That's when a glass bottle went whizzing by his head and he ducked.

"Lion-O is just a pretender! You bow to him when I am the rightful heir!" A lion emerged from the crowd and looked the spitting image of the King himself. A murmur went through the crowd and that's when Sahara's sixth sense told her this was the real reason for War's trick. Suddenly more trash found its way toward the ThunderCats. Panthro, who had had enough of his wheelchair, growled and Lea quickly popped the back of the Tank open. The panther was seated at the controls of the large gun and he turned it to the crowd.

"Panthro! What are you doing?" Cheetara shouted at him. He didn't respond and the look in his eyes was one that she'd never seen before.

"Enough! Only one is the real King and only I can prove it!" Sahara quickly thrust the Sword into the air and called the ThunderCats. The Cat Signal shot forth and blanketed the newcomer, quickly revealing a different form all together, one of a vulture.

"Mutant! Someone in the crowd shouted and they all scattered. Panthro shook his head, seemingly waking up from had just happened and aimed the gun at the foe.

"So you are not so easily fooled. Well not entirely, I did manage to get you out there," he smirked.

"Pestilence and Famine are dead. Death is getting what is coming to him. That just leaves you," Sahara spoke up as she turned the Sword in her hand bringing around to the front of her, pointing the tip at him.

"You'll find that I'm not as easy to kill," he smirked. Before anyone could do anything however, he vanished into thin air.


	21. Chapter 21

Lion-O had gone on the evening news to calm the people of New Thundera. While he explained the situation, minus the fact that Sahara had even more unusual powers than anyone had realized, the remainder of the ThunderCats were meeting in the Conference Room.

"So you had no idea what you were doing?" Sahara asked Panthro.

"It was weird. All of a sudden, it was like I had missed the last few minutes of what was going on. Somehow, I was so angry, that it blocked everything I was doing from my memory," he said.

"That must be how he does it then," the litah said.

"Does what?" Lak asked.

"He instigates by being able to blind everyone to what is really going on around them. Someone from the crowd threw a bottle at my father but and in that moment, he decided to show himself to confuse everyone around him. Imagine if Panthro had shot into the crowd of innocents. There would be people trying to charge the gates, demanding for his head. Who would believe that in that moment, he wasn't really in control of his own body?" Sahara pointed out.

"That will make him very hard to catch. Especially since he can shape shift," Lea said.

"Yes, that will definitely be a problem," Cheetara frowned.

"How did you feel him before? Why can't you feel him now?" Tygra asked.

"Much like the rest of my powers, I can't explain it, I just know. Perhaps it is because of my heightened sixth sense or perhaps it's because of the Sword, I really don't know," Sahara admitted.

"Well hopefully Wizz-Ra and Jaga have an idea for finding this guy before he causes more trouble," Cavan spoke up. Currently, the two aforementioned people were trying to come up with a way to use magic or to somehow trap War using Jaga's unique talents. They both figured that they might need an extra ace up their sleeves when it came to dealing with the third Horseman.

"Yes well sitting on our hands doesn't give me any warm and fuzzy feelings," Li-en said.

"Agreed. Pali, have you spoken to our Evil Chaser friends? What are their intentions once we have confirmation that Pestilence's disease has been eradicated?" Cheetara asked.

"They intend to pack up and leave provided we don't need them. They are scheduled to rendezvous with High Command in three days' time, unless something happens in the Med Bay. They also received word that First Class Officer Shay is being moved to the permanently disabled list and is being allowed to retire. They intend to promote her to Sergeant and she will receive the Medal of Valor for her actions that led to her injuries," he told them.

"Shay is a valiant warrior and I hope that she can recover more. While she can no longer be an Evil Chaser, she will always be a part of the ThunderCat family," Cheetara said.

"I'm sure she appreciates that. I know that she is very appreciative of everything everyone is trying to do but the last prognosis with her condition has her being able to walk in about a year. In the meantime, she has to continue her other therapies to regain speech and grip strength so returning to the Force is just not possible," Pali heaved a sigh. The two First Class Officers were best friends and he hated to see her go through such a thing.

"So who will be her replacement?" Lak asked.

"Mandora offered to stay out of retirement until another could be found and I think High Command is weighing their options, so for right now, it's Mandora," the Mutant explained.

"Good. Relay to her that all transports from Third Earth to New Thundera need to cease. We can't have War getting to Third Earth to cause trouble," Cheetara said.

"Agreed. So what do we do now?" Tygra asked.

"Wait it would seem. Although I have a sneaking suspicion we won't have to wait long," Sahara frowned.

"I want the Lair on high alert. We're taking no chances," The Queen told them.


	22. Chapter 22

Sahara had spent a sleepless night in her bedroom, figuring that not too many were sleeping in the rest of the Lair either. Finally near dawn, she got up and took a shower. Once out of the shower, she donned a clean uniform, and then decided she would try to clear her mind. Perhaps clear focus and an attempt to commune with her powers would allow her to find War.

Sitting cross-legged on her bed, she closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.  _Clear your mind, clear your mind_ , she tried to instruct herself. The litah could feel her powers welling up inside of her. The sixth sense was trying to tell her something but what she couldn't figure out.

 _Well you are little, for a God._  The words started to echo in her head. It made no sense. How could she be a God? Shouldn't that have meant that she would have kept her foot? Why bestow her with these powers and leave her brother to suffer as he was now? If Lak was meant to be her warrior, why was he forced to go through so much?

"So many questions little one," the voice outside of her head snapped her from her moment.

"Jaga," she heaved a breath.

"Didn't mean to intrude but your voice was quite loud," he said.

"Was I speaking out loud?" Sahara had thought it had been in her head.

"No. I am connected to the ones who are connected to the Sword. The Eye of Thundera knows you're confused. I'm supposed to be your mentor, so it lets me know," Jaga explained.

"So could you hear the thoughts in my father's head?" She asked.

"It's the only way to know he needed me," he said.

"So the other day when Lak and I were…" the litah trailed off. That was totally embarrassing if he knew what they had been up to, not to mention creepy.

"Were doing what? I only get nudges when Sword thinks you need it, not twenty-four seven," he said. Sahara internally heaved a sigh of relief.

"Oh good, never mind then," she said. He raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing, expecting her to continue.

"Why me?" Was the first question that tumbled out.

"The secret of the Eye of Thundera has been secretly guarded for millennium. It was a gift from the Gods meant to aid in the protection of Thundera and her peoples from the Ancient Spirits of Evil and their champions. It was foretold that one day the Gods would provide a champion of their own. One worthy to wield their power and one who could shoulder the burden. You have proven yourself worthy, little one, multiple times. I don't think I need to remind you how you lost your foot or how you helped Lak though his troubles as a child or how you saved your brother. These coupled with the abilities you received from your mother, make you the one. Now close your eyes and focus. War cannot hide from you, no matter how hard he tries," Jaga told her. Sahara did as she was told and focused her sixth sense. Soon her whole body was tingling. Once again her powers were showing that they controlled her more than she controlled them. She held out her hand and soon there was shouting in the hallway. The door to her room opened and the Eye of Thundera growled as the Sword landed in her hand.

"Where is he hiding?" Jaga asked. Sahara did not answer. She was still trying to focus.

"Why do I even bother to carry the Sword around with me anymore?" Lion-O asked; a slight smirk on his face. Cheetara stood next to him, the hair on her arms raised. She could feel her daughter's power and she involuntarily shuddered.

"What's going on?" Lak asked. He wanted to know why a crowd had gathered outside his girlfriend's room. Cheetara turned her head to explain but then she saw a look in his eye that she could not place.

"Do you feel that?" He asked, not waiting for a response from the Queen. She looked at his arms and the hair on his stood on end. Somehow he was feeling what Sahara was doing as well.

"I've found him! Mount up!" Sahara ordered. She raced out of the room as full speed. Lion-O went to the panel on the wall and whacked the red alert button. It was time to bring the fight to the enemy.


	23. Chapter 23

The ThunderTank, ThunderStrike, and HoverCat left the Lair. Lion-O drove the Tank while Sahara sat next to him. Cheetara and Lea were in the back of the Tank with the lioness manning the big gun. Ben-Gali, Lak, and Li-en were inside the ThunderStrike while Wizz-Ra drove the HoverCat.

Sahara was giving directions to her father and he tried to follow them as closely as possible. The trip was taking them through the city and down to the industrial district. Lion-O ordered the ThunderStrike and HoverCat to fly in front of them, to see if their height could help them spot trouble.

"Why would War come out here?" Cheetara asked.

"It's sparsely populated so I'm not sure. Unless the intention is to use one of these places to do something that would affect the entire city," Lea frowned. That idea made a shiver run down her spine. Suddenly, the Tank stopped, right outside the Thundrillium processing plant. There they refined the mineral from its rock form into liquid and gas for the fueling of vehicles and cooking and heating equipment.

"He's here," Sahara said.

"ThunderStrike, circle the area. Scan for anomalies. Wizz-Ra, land and join us," Lion-O ordered over the radio.

"The hairs on the back of my neck are standing up. Shouldn't the plant be occupied?" Cheetara asked, realizing that given the hour, the plant should be in full swing.

"Yeah something is not right," Lea agreed. The two quickly left the back of the Tank and met Lion-O and Sahara. Wizz-Ra landed next to them and climbed off the HoverCat.

"I can feel the bad energy," the wizard said.

"You aren't the only one," Lion-O frowned. The radio crackled to life and he leaned back over the edge of the Tank and picked it up.

"Ben-Gali to ThunderTank. Come in ThunderTank."

"Lion-O here. What have you got?"

"A whole lot of nothing. Something is seriously wrong. The factory workers vehicles are here but the only heat signature I'm receiving is the one in the ovens which are on all the time," the white tiger said.

"We can't search this place on foot. It's too big," Lea frowned. Sahara lifted the Sword to her face,

"Sword of Omens, give me Sight Beyond Sight!" They all watched as she tried to fine tune the feeling she had about the Horseman.

"I'm getting some sort of interference," she frowned.

"It's the Thundrillium. Rely on your senses," Cheetara told her daughter. Sahara closed her eyes momentarily and it was if the world just stopped. She could hear the beating of her heart in her ears and feel the air fill her lungs. That's when she felt something else.

"This way," she directed them. Lion-O radioed to the ThunderStrike to keep scanning and keep them on their scanners as they headed inside the factory. Sahara led them through the factory as if she'd visited the place multiple times before. The group remained quiet to allow her to focus. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. The litah picked up her left hand and indicated that something was in the room off to their left. They pulled out their weapons and Cheetara cautiously opened the door. There behind the door were the factory workers. They looked confused but did not move.

"They don't seem to be in control of their own bodies," Lea frowned. Wizz-Ra quickly chanted a spell in his native tongue. The workers started to come around and Lion-O said,

"We better get them out of here. Who knows what War has planned."

"Agreed," Lea nodded and began rousting the workers.

"Head for the nearest exit. Do not stop," Cheetara ordered. They got moving as quickly as they could.

"Now where to?" Lion-O asked.

"This way. I have a sneaking suspicion we'll find him in the Control Room," Sahara said.


	24. Chapter 24

Carefully and quietly, the group approached the Control Room. The big double doors were closed and Sahara put her hand on the handle and tried the opening mechanism. It easily moved and she pulled the door open slowly. Once it was open far enough, she slipped into the room. Looking around she saw no one, yet she could feel something was wrong. The litah moved through the room, searching for her prey. There were no other doors so the only way in and out for her and the ThunderCats was back the way she'd come. Quickly, she moved back to the door and opened it for the rest to join her.

"I can feel him but the room seems empty. Can we get a look at the equipment and see if anything has been sabotaged?" Sahara asked.

"On it," Lea nodded before moving to the nearest computer terminal.

"What are your feelings telling you?" Cheetara looked at her daughter. The cheetah could feel that something was off but she couldn't place it, much like her daughter couldn't.

"I can feel as though he's in the room but as you can see, no one is here," the litah frowned.

"They aren't here because this place is rigged to explode," Lea interrupted them.

"What?" Lion-O asked his sister.

"I've been trying to get the ovens to respond but they refuse to and the temperature continues to rise. Without the ability to shut them off, we've got about five minutes before this whole place goes up. Everything is going to start melting and the liquid Thundrillium will become a gas and one spark will ignite the vapors and boom," the lioness explained.

"Get everyone out of here now! Cheetara, run ahead and radio Ben-Gali. I want a five square mile radius around this place!" Lion-O ordered. His wife nodded and was off like a shot.

"War is here! We have to find him!" Sahara argued.

"We can't fight him if we're dead. Get out of here now!" Lion-O ordered. They all made their way to the doors and down the hallway as quickly as they could.

"Can't we shut off the ovens manually?" Wizz-Ra asked.

"Only if you can survive two hundred degree heat and climbing. Not sure about the rest of you but I know I can't survive that," the lioness gave him a look.

"My magic could buy us more time to stop the plant from exploding," the wizard suggested. That's when an announcement came over the loudspeakers. It was the main computer.

"Oven malfunction! Evacuate the premises immediately! Two minutes to destruction!"

"Run faster!" Lion-O barked and they all started running for the exit. Sahara could feel that War was there somewhere but if he intended to stay behind and die for the cause, she wasn't about to argue. That's when they reached the door and found it would not open.

"What the…" Lion-O grabbed the handles with his muscular hands and pulled on them. The door refused to move an inch. Sahara leveled the Sword of Omens at the exit and shouted,

"Ho!" A bolt of energy shot forth and blew the door apart. They quickly climbed out through the rough opening.

"One minute to destruction!" The computer warned.

"We aren't going to make it!" Lea knew that this was it. Suddenly, there was a roar of an engine and Cheetara sped up to them in the ThunderTank.

"Need a lift?" She asked. They quickly climbed aboard and the cheetah floored it.

"I've radioed to the utility. They've shut down the gas mains out of the plant remotely and blew the vents but you've got about thirty seconds before the ovens blow and anything left in the pipelines goes boom!" Ben-Gali's voice came over the radio. Cheetara's foot tried to press harder on the gas – the pedal was already to the floor. This was going to be close.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Explosions started back at the plant and chased the ThunderTank as it tried to get away. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The explosions grew and Ben-Gali lost sight of the Tank from the air as it filled with flames and acrid smoke.

"ThunderTank come in! ThunderTank, do you read?! Cheetara?!" The white tiger screamed into the radio but all he got was static.


	25. Chapter 25

_"There were large sets of explosions at the Thundrillium processing plant today. The utility company says that thankfully all the workers escaped the facility thanks to the quick actions of the ThunderCats. Regrettably, the King, Queen, Princesses, and Wizz-Ra are still missing. Communication with the ThunderTank was lost as they attempted to escape the disaster. The ThunderGuard is continuing to search through the rubble now that it is safe to do so with the help of the visiting Evil Chasers. We will keep updating the situation as soon as it develops,"_ the news reporter on the video screen promised. He then sent it back to the studio from his field location outside the blast zone.

 _"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Prince Leo tonight who is still in the hospital, recovering from heart surgery. Doctors installed a pacemaker in the young Prince's heart just hours ago when the medicine they'd been giving him failed to work. With the entire royal family unavailable, Lord Tygra has assumed command of the ThunderCats and ThunderGuard. We must come together now as we never have before as we hope that everyone is alive and safe, just waiting to be rescued,"_  with that the news broadcast that interrupted the evening programming completed. The utility company thankfully had a secondary plant where security was tripled and it was now running twenty-four hours a day to make sure that it could keep up with the demand. Work in the Thundrillium mines had also been stepped up in an effort to get more to the secondary plant.

A doctor walked into Leo's mostly darkened room to check on the litah's condition. The pacemaker had in fact corrected the issue, just as the doctors from Mars had predicted and Doctor Ayla was grateful for their input. At first, the unit had not been seen as a viable option since there were structural issues with the heart but one of the Martian doctors walked her through the procedure to fix those issues and install the pacemaker. Now Leo's heart pumped properly and the blood flowed as it should. It wasn't expected it would take long for him to wake from the anesthesia but his body had been through a lot and everyone just waited and watched.

"I don't remember meeting you when I spoke to Leo's team of doctors. Come to check up on the only remaining royal have you?" Sahara spoke up, startling the doctor who whirled around to face her.

"How can this be?" The "doctor" gave away who he was just by his act of surprise. He was further surprised when Sahara grabbed his throat. It surprised him more when the smaller frame woman lifted him off the floor, her powers on display.

"Thought you could throw everything into chaos with the royal family down for the count huh?" It was a rhetorical question since she was squeezing his throat to the point where he could not speak. Slowly the doctor transformed into a Vulture.

"You have this under control?" Lion-O asked as the lights in the room came up, showing that they were not in Leo's room after all. A dummy was in the bed wired up to look like the Prince and the machines were beeping as steady rhythm, thanks to a life support machine. The ThunderCats and Wizz-Ra had been sitting in chairs in the darkness of the room, with the King near a second set of light switches.

Sahara squeezed the throat of the Mutant and he blacked out. Then she dropped him before slapping enchanted cuffs on him that Wizz-Ra had worked on himself. With their quarry caught, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"So what should we do with him?" Sahara asked as her father, mother, aunt, and Wizz-Ra entered the room.

"Oh I know exactly what to do with him," the Ancient Egyptian smirked. Conjuring up a spell, he cast the still handcuffed Mutant into the seventh circle of Hell where he belonged.

"That wasn't very nice of you," Cheetara commented.

"Seemed fair to me. At any rate, he won't be getting very far with those cuffs on. Plus I'm sure there are some demons who'd like a word with him," the wizard chuckled.

"So is it finally over?" Lea asked.

"The only way to know for sure would be to see if Sahara could reach Bast and see if Osiris kept up his end of the bargain," Wizz-Ra admitted. They were interrupted by a knock on the door and it opened to reveal a nurse.

"Leo is awake," she smiled.


	26. Chapter 26

"You know Doctor Ayla really doesn't like it when you call that contraption a pacemaker," Leo said to his fiancée as she checked him over down in the Med Bay. The snow leopard gave him a look. She had now fully recovered from Pestilence's disease and the Med Bay had been thoroughly sanitized so that the Prince could move back into the Lair. It had been three days since the Thundrilium processing plant had blown up and War had been sent back into the pits of Hell.

"It regulates your heartbeat doesn't it?" Amala asked.

"Yes but it also basically replaced the enlarged part of my heart. From what I understand, they were able to place the artificial heart chamber inside the real one and its doing all the work. She said that they kept the blood flowing to the tissue so it can encase and protect the material of the new one," he said.

"So it's a glorified pacemaker. To be honest, I don't care what it is as long as it's keeping you alive," the snow leopard told him, sitting next to him, on the edge of his bed.

"Then it's a glorified pacemaker because it's keeping me alive," Leo smiled and surprised her by lifting himself off the bed and pulling her to him. Their lips met and as much as she was enjoying the contact, Amala pushed him away gently, and helped him lie back down.

"You think a kiss will solve everything don't you?" She asked, giving him a look telling him that he was already doing more than the doctor wanted. He'd just had major heart surgery after all.

"Well no but we really can't do much else until I can prove that I can walk out of here. So tell me when therapy begins and I'll be there. I want to walk down the aisle with you as soon as possible before something else happens," the litah said.

"I can agree with that," this time she leaned over and kissed him soundly.

"Ewwwww…." Came a voice at the doorway. The two quickly broke apart to find Lak standing there, surprisingly by himself. He and Sahara had been glued at the hip since she'd come out of the Book of Omens and confirmed that Osiris had held up his end of the deal. The Horsemen were gone and gone for good.

"I thought you were more grown up than that," Amala gave him a look.

"Oh I am. I just like to tease you. Could I borrow Leo for a few minutes?" Lak asked.

"Of course. I should get to my rounds anyway. I wouldn't want to keep your mother waiting," the snow leopard winked and she scooted out of the room.

"What is the word? I'm surprised you're here without my sister," Leo commented as Lak took a seat next to him.

"Well with everything back to normal, or at least as normal as we can get, Sahara asked Wizz-Ra for help with her powers. Seems that being a God is more complicated than it would seem," the pumiger admitted.

"I would imagine. There is so much we don't know. Though it does explain a lot about her connection with the Sword. I think it's probably better she wield it, rather than myself. Still that makes me wonder about the future," the litah said.

"That's what brings me here today actually. I'm supposed to be her warrior but I have no idea what that means and I'm pretty sure she'll outlive us all. So how can we move forward? I cannot imagine life without her but I don't want to leave her so that she may roam this planet for all eternity," Lak heaved a sigh.  
"Well I think the best thing to do is to carry on as you would, even though you're not a God. Even if she lives for many lifetimes, I can't imagine she'd be happy if you didn't have at least one together," Leo told him. The pumiger nodded and heaved a sigh. He seemed to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"You're right," he nodded.

"Good. Now go tell her how you feel. Though I suspect that she already knows," Leo gave him a wink. Lak stood and grasped his friend's shoulder.

"Hopefully you'll be out of here soon. It would do everyone some good to see you up and about," he said.

"I would agree. Not to worry, Amala has promised me that she will be vigorous in her therapy sessions with me," Leo smiled.

"I'm pretty sure your father would kill you for that before you're married, especially since that isn't the kind of therapy he envisioned," Lak teased.

"You hound dog! I should beat you up for suggesting such things," the litah teased.

"If you only knew…" Lak trailed off before giving him a wink and heading out of the room. Leo had to think about what his friend said for a second before he shouted after him,

"You're lucky I can't get out of this bed mister!" Lak chuckled to himself and reached into his pocket, nervously running his hand over the box inside of it. Leo had been right. He and Sahara needed to talk.


	27. Chapter 27

"I figured I'd find you up here," the pumiger said. He'd looked all over the Lair and could not find his girlfriend. There was only one spot left to check and it was up in the mouth of the Cat's Head.

"You caught me," Sahara turned her head and smiled at him. She was sitting down on the floor and he quickly joined her.

"I guess I figured you'd be still chatting with Wizz-Ra," Lak admitted, once he got settled.

"Dad needed him. The Evil Chasers are leaving as the medical emergency is over and we've been resupplied. They are due to rendezvous with headquarters and get Third Earth's new Evil Chaser before heading back this way so Mandora and Alexei can go home. Shay is going to be moved here as Pali has offered to keep her company and make sure she gets to her therapy appointments," the litah explained. She leaned over, her head touching his shoulder. He moved his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"Ah I see. Doesn't Shay have family that should be coming to get her?" He asked.

"No. Her parents passed a few years ago. Mandora offered to take her to Mars but the doctors are concerned that long space flights would not be possible. Moving her here is just as risky and a full medical team is travelling with her," Sahara said.

"I just wish we could have done more for her," Lak frowned.

"She knew the risks and she did her job despite them. Dad asked her if she had regrets and she said she had none. She's tough and I think having Pali to help look after her will be good for both of them," the litah smiled.

"What does Kyra think?" The pumiger wondered.

"Not sure on that one but considering Panthro caught the two of them snuggling inside Pali's office the other day, I'd say they're fine," Sahara chuckled.

"Snuggling? Like what we did the other day or just like we're doing now?" Lak asked.

"Like now. Pretty sure that Pali's Evil Chaser training wouldn't let them do that in his office. That and being the gentleman that he is, he'd probably want to make sure they weren't somewhere they could get caught," she laughed a little before asking, "but you didn't come up here to talk to me about that did you?"

"You're too sharp for me," he chuckled. At that, Sahara picked her head up and looked at him. Lak turned his head and looked directly at her.

"What did I say about that? You've more than proven yourself to me. Get those thoughts out of your head," she said, regarding his deprecating comment.

"I know what you've said but what I'm about to ask you is something that I know there is no going back from, once it's been asked. You know that no matter what your answer, I'll always be by your side. That will never change," he told her. His right hand moved into his pocket and he pulled out the box he'd been fiddling with. Sahara was about to respond to him but she stopped.

"I know that we still have a lot to work out and I know that you're going through a lot but I've been told that I am a warrior and I hope that is enough for my Princess and the Goddess that you are. Would you marry me?" He opened the box and inside was a silver ring. On that silver ring was a diamond, encircled by smaller yellow and red stones, her two favorite colors. Sahara just looked at him and he was afraid that he'd blown it. Then he found his lips occupied by hers.

"I'll take that as a yes," he smirked when they parted. She playfully smacked his shoulder before holding her hand out to him. The pumiger slid the ring onto her finger.

"How did you manage to get a ring in the last few days?" Sahara asked, admiring it on her finger.

"Yeah about that…" that earned him a look.

"Lakshmana…" she never used his full name; he was in trouble.

"That day you went for a run with Leo, I had slipped out of the Lair. I knew that you and Leo were going to be gone for a little while and that Mr. Rao was awaiting my answer on a few selections he'd brought to my attention. So I snuck out of the Lair and met up with him. We were supposed to go out on a date that night but things kind of didn't work out that way. Then when things had started to calm down, Leo had proposed to Amala and I didn't want…" he was rambling and she stopped him by bringing her lips to his.

"You get that kind of patience from your father," she chuckled when they parted.

"I suppose I do," it was his turn to laugh.

"So do we tell the others or do we sneak back to my room and tell them later?" Sahara asked.

"Are you asking what I think you are asking?" There was a smirk on his face.

"Only one way to find out," she laughed, getting on her feet. The litah was about to run away when he reached out to her. She pulled him up instead and they were mere inches apart.

"I know the answer, the question is, can we be sneaky enough and get to your room without being interrupted?" He wondered.

"You no longer fear death? Didn't you say…" this time she was cut off by his lips on hers.

"Warriors do not fear death," he smirked. That was all she needed to hear and she pulled him back towards the staircase. They managed to make it to her room with no one noticing. It would not be until the next day at breakfast that they made the announcement to everyone. There were congratulations and talk of a party but the two really didn't hear it until Lion-O asked what had happened to them the previous afternoon.

**The End**


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